Can you identify these items from a Melaka antique store? Millennials sure fail wan

All history requires a beginning, and an end. The history of this article started when our ex-intern Joyee posted a TikTok video about her dad’s antique store in Melaka, and our reaction was:

OMG JOYEE YOUR DAD OWNS AN ANTIQUE STORE AND YOU DIDN’T  WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS? 😡

And so, because the sins of the intern are always laid upon the editor, he had to do something no one in their right mind would do in a pandemic – travel across state lines to visit the place.

After braving through countless KL and Johor cars on the streets of Melaka, we finally made it to Trash & Treasure @ Discovery Melaka (Facebook | Maps) where we met interndaddy and owner David Heng. With the colorful murals and non-stop activity framing both sides of the Melaka river, you’d probably miss the shop if not for the Volkswagen Beetles attached to the walls.

David tells us that the building used to be a rice depot way back in the day; where sacks of rice would be loaded and unloaded from the many sampans that made use of the Venice of the East.

Now, let’s move on to the reason you clicked into this article in the first place:

 

Game show: Are you older than our Cilisos Editor?

Because the writing of this article was interrupted by the announcement of the CMCO (we actually visited Trash & Treasure in September), there was ample time to get opinions on which antiques we should include in this article. This was when we realized that what was considered an ‘antique’ really depends on how old you are; which also affects whether you know what it is in the first place.

So, instead of a photo reel, let’s play a game. Tell us your score on this Facebook post and we’ll try to guess your age range.

These items are part of David’s collection, which is usually kept in a display case. However…

 

David also wants you to play with his collection

David actually split his shop into two areas – a traditional “once broken considered sold” kinda antique store, and another area which he calls “experiential history”. It’s pretty much the complete reverse here – for a small fee, customers can freely play and take pictures with old electronics, furniture, and even the front of an abandoned kampung house that David salvaged.

Sectioned off into a living room, office, study, Coke lovers paradise, and a few others; David says that it’s really popular with families eager to show their kids how ibu dan ayah had to hold the TV antenna so the whole family could watch TV, and for companies or groups in search of an interesting venue to hold events.

David admits that he puts the less valuable items in this section because they might break or go missing. After this writer relived his childhood memories on a rotary phone (someone should make an app for that), it was time to start the drive back to KL.

Oh and by the way… if you’ve made it this far in the article, David can also set you up with some sweet accommodations. Yes, he also runs a guest house, something which Joyee only told us about the day before we made the trip, and after we already made travel arrangements.

Interns I tell ya.